Ambitious employment goal needed in post-2015 development agenda

NEW YORK – The post-2015 development agenda needs an “ambitious employment goal,” according to the conclusions of a high-level event on employment and inclusive growth in New York.

The June 14th event, part of global consolations on growth and employment led by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP), brought together 85 delegates from the UN, governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations and civil society.

Participants called for policies to support productive capacity and decent jobs, increased efforts to address inequalities and the integration of informal work into the formal sector.

They also urged reform of unfair tax systems, revitalized official development assistance, improved international trade and financing rules, and the integration of sustainable development considerations in decision- and policy-making.

Stephen Pursey, Director of the ILO Multilateral Relations department, said that in contrast to deliberations on the MDGs at the turn of the century, the post-2015 development agenda sees employment as central, rather than residual to development.

The need to transform economies for jobs and inclusive growth was highlighted by the report of the UN Secretary General’s High-Level Panel on the post-2015 development agenda in May, which proposed a specific development goal to “create jobs, sustainable livelihoods, and equitable growth.”

Alison Tate, representing the International Trade Union Confederation at the event, stressed the importance of decent work in developing a more socially-inclusive and economically-dynamic development model that helps eradicate poverty.

Adam Greene, US Council for International Business and the International Organisation of Employers, noted that the post-2015 development agenda represents a shift from focusing on where to direct official development assistance to fostering enterprise development, economic growth and job creation.

The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, is expected to present his vision for the world’s next development agenda in September 2013 at the UN General Assembly in New York.